Nothingness
by senga6
Summary: You wonder what would've happened, the possibilities that would've opened before you, had Kenshin and Kaoru met before the Bakumatsu.
1. Nothingness

_**Nothingness**_

I don't own Nothing In My Way, by Keane, or Rurouni Kenshin, belonging to Nobuhiro Watsuki.

* * *

_A turning tide__  
__Lovers at a great divide__  
__Why d'you laugh?__  
__When I know that you're hurt inside?_

"Kenshin," she had whispered, a fake smile plastered onto her face, a forced laugh forcing its way through her throat, "I'll be happy. Go."

Unsure what to do, he sat there, and even though he'd been told to follow his heart, his heart was split two ways.

* * *

_And why'd you say__  
__It's just another day, nothing in my way__  
__I don't wanna go, I don't wanna stay__  
__So there's nothing left to say?_

He'd been so small when they'd met, so foolishly in love. His Master had laughed at him, yet approved of the girl. He'd had the sneaking suspicion he'd known the girl, and purposely introduced him to her on purpose.

"_Hello, I'm Himura Kenshin. You must be Kamiya Kaoru."_

_

* * *

_

_And why'd you lie__  
__When you wanna die, when you're hurt inside__  
__Don't know what you lie for anyway_

She'd been so angry when he'd said he'd wanted to fight in the war, for the good of Japan; she'd looked at him right in the eye, sapphire eyes sparking with that horrid sadness, lying even though they both knew what she said was untrue.

And he'd wondered why she didn't scream at him, whack him with her bokken, because these lies were hurting him more.

* * *

_Now there's nothing left to say_

They eyed each other, unsure of what to say, the heavy silence hanging on them, as the rain poured outside.

* * *

_A tell-tale sign__  
__You don't know where to draw the line_

He smiled blankly, not so sure why he was doing this anymore, and left, his heart pounding with his Master's shouts to never come back and the silent smile she had worn like a mask, a tear trickling down her cheek.

And he'd prayed to any god that would hear him out for her to forgive him.

* * *

_And why'd you say__  
__It's just another day, nothing in my way__  
__I don't wanna go, I don't wanna stay__  
__So there's nothing left to say_

There had been so much blood, over and over he had killed, countless people he had made cry for their loved ones, and it was almost too much for his mind to bear.

He was half insane when she had visited.

* * *

_And why'd you lie__  
__When you wanna die, when you're hurt inside__  
__Don't know what you lie for anyway__  
__Now there's nothing left to say_

"I'm not going to assassinate him or anything," that oh-so-familiar voice had shouted, happiness and confusion flooding through him. _Why was she here? In this world of bloodshed?_

Then, she'd appeared before him, his glazed eyes looking right at her, yet his brain unable to accept it was true. That she was here, amidst a war she'd never wanted to go near, a war filled with so many killings by his own hands.

_He was dirty._

_

* * *

_

_Well for a lonely soul, you're having such a nice time__  
__For a lonely soul, you're having such a nice time__  
__For a lonely soul, it seems to me that you're having such a nice time__  
__You're having such a nice time_

"How could you?" were the first words she had uttered.

He merely hung his head before her, unable to muster up the courage to look her in the eye, knowing that there would be that ugly loneliness, and he wasn't sure if he could resist the urge to kiss her.

* * *

_(Just...)__  
__For a lonely soul, you're having such a nice time__  
__(...another day, nothing in my way, I..)__  
__For a lonely soul, you're having such a nice time__  
__(...don't wanna go, I don't wanna stay. just..)_

"I couldn't believe that was you they had talked about. Battousai," she spat out, and he knew that there would be that fierce look in her eyes.

Soft, bitter laughter rang in the air.

"Good-bye. May I never see you again, Battousai."

* * *

_For a lonely soul, it seems to me that you're having such a nice time__  
__(... another day, nothing in my way; Don't know what you lie for...)__  
__You're having such a nice time__  
__(...anyway)_

It had been almost funny to see the look on everybody's faces as the woman stormed out, and he'd watched her retreating back with obvious longing, a pang of nothingness in his heart.

"…_I'm sorry, Kaoru."_

_

* * *

_

Review? Should I add some background/epilogue stuff?


	2. To Meet

_**Nothingness**_

Okay, so maybe I am going to continue this… So, I present this thing I cooked up in one day! I hope you like, and there should be about six more chapters and an epilogue! BE HAPPY! ^_^ So you guys will have to wait to find out what happens in the end with those two... *evil grin*

Did some Hiko POV, not quite sure if I portrayed him correctly…

So, obviously, there are some changes. Kaoru is around Kenshin's age, give or take (yeah, didn't plan that out…). Not quite sure if I'll put Yahiko, Sano, Megumi, etc. So, basically, it's an AU, I guess... in a way? Does anyone get it? .

THANK YOU, to all who reviewed the first chapter-y thing… Reviews are nice. xD

Don't own RK. Cookies, anyone?

* * *

First: To Meet

Seijuro Hiko was annoyed.

Not that this was unusual, just that he was a lot more annoyed than usual.

As usual, it had something to do with his baka deshi.

He grumbled darkly as he walked down the road, his menacing aura though unnoticed by him very much noted by the people milling about, tripping over themselves to get out of his way.

His idiot apprentice just had to go and get himself sick. Now he was lying in his futon with a high fever, and because he was worried (though he never said that, no matter what you may say), he was buying medicine for him.

Hiko glared at the poor man who was getting the medicine, and the man felt a horrid shiver crawl down his spine.

"H- here you go, sir!" the man squeaked, practically shoving the medicine into Hiko's hands and retreating back behind his shelves filled with plants.

Seijuro Hiko stood there for a moment, an unreadable expression in his eyes and the firm way he pursed his lips screaming danger for anyone who dared disturb his thoughts. Then, he turned around and walked out of the store, cloak flowing behind him.

He swept down the road again, intent on getting that baka deshi of his to eat the medicine he'd just gotten, or else he'd force it down his throat. Either way, something was going to come out of the trouble he'd just gone through to get the stupid medicine, and it had better be his apprentice eating the medicine and getting better if he knew what was good for him.

Never once did he think about how it was his own fault for leaving Kenshin to train the whole night through, as he was a tad too busy drowning his mind and sorrows in saké.

He scowled darkly, and the few people still standing in his path were quick to get away, later on swearing they had felt someone walk on their graves.

Seijuro Hiko was, indeed, a very scary man.

Scowl still set in place, wondering about the saké he'd kept in his house and how long could he drown himself into the drink, he felt something bump into his leg, and strangely, he hadn't felt the ki before it had bumped into him.

Though, perhaps a correction should be made; _it_ was a _someone_.

He looked down, quite ready to tell whoever it was exactly what he thought of him, but then he stopped.

It was a little _girl_, around his apprentice's height.

But what caught his attention were those deep blue eyes, deeper than the ocean or sky, the hidden fire that burned so brightly one was almost afraid to touch it, the silent look in her eyes, just daring him to say something that didn't suit her well, and the warrior spirit in her.

Hiko was decidedly amused.

The little girl apologized once, bowing slightly to the taller and older man, before continuing on to wherever it was she was going.

Seijuro Hiko chuckled softly as he began walking towards his home, and where his baka deshi lay with a fever.

_It'd be a great laugh to see what would happen if they ever met._

~:~*~:~

The next time he had met that interesting girl, it was raining.

The skies covered themselves with shrouds of gray, the world crying as he ventured out of his small home again, but for a different reason than the last.

This time, his supply of saké was running short, and he couldn't send his baka deshi to go buy some because the boy had gotten himself sick again. Luckily, they still had some of the medicine from before, so he didn't need to get any more.

He walked past the tiny shops, most already closed from the lack of customers on a rainy day such as today. His eyes trained on a tiny lit up store that would give him his saké.

Hiko felt something bump into him, and he immediately knew who it was.

Looking down, he was not surprised to see the little girl from before again, though his mind still wondering how he couldn't seem to sense her ki, he noticed the girl was crying.

Simply staring at her, not quite sure what to do, he asks, "What's wrong?"

The girl stared at him accusingly, tears filling in those large blue depths. "It's not like you actually care," she mumbled, wiping away a stray tear. "Nobody cares."

Rolling his eyes and silently wishing girls were as easy to deal with as boys (Kenshin was definitely easy to deal with; tell him to get up and take care of himself, instead of sniffling like a girl), he picked her up.

Looking into her eyes that were far too large and knowing for a girl her age, Hiko realized that the already deep blue eyes of hers were a shade darker.

_How intriguing._

"So? What's the matter?" he asked, uncharacteristically nicer than usual. He mentally cringed at how kind he sounded, but you never knew that.

The blue eyes considered him, as if wondering he was worth of whatever it was that made her so upset.

Eventually, she made her decision.

"Mom died."

Hiko stared at her for a moment before placing a large hand on her head.

"I'm sure you'll be fine," he said gruffly.

The girl looked at him, a stray tear trickling down her cheek, but no more were coming after it.

"Yeah," she whispered hoarsely, wiping the tear away. "I guess so."

After putting her down, she looked at him contemplatively. After a few minutes of staring (and being deprived of his precious saké), he began getting rather annoyed.

"What?"

At the sound of his voice, the girl stuck out her hand.

"I'm Kamiya Kaoru."

Seijuro Hiko raised an eyebrow, though whether it not had been seen by the little girl was unknown to anyone but herself.

"Is that so."

The girl proceeded to pout. "Aren't you going to tell me your name?"

Hiko merely smiled. "I think not."

And thus, he left to get his saké, leaving the little girl to shout profanities behind him a girl her age most definitely should not know, chuckling all the while.

_My idiot apprentice is most definitely going to meet her, whether they like it or not._


	3. Fleeting Glance

_**Nothingness**_

CRP ALERT! COMPLETELY RANDOM PERSON/PEOPLE ALERT! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

Once again, I must give thanks to the reviewers… Makes me so happy to see I have another email for this fanfic… I also must thank those who favorited/story alerted this. THANK YOU.

So, they don't actually meet yet… But they will, of course. xD I didn't like this chapter all that much… Expect the next one soon. ^_^

Rurouni Kenshin is not mine, thus none of the characters are mine, and yeah. I don't feel like thinking of anything creative.

* * *

Second: Fleeting Glance

It was another one of _those_ days.

Actually, it wasn't all that bad. Just rather tedious, Kenshin thought.

Market Day.

He was walking down the road, and a few shopkeepers called out to him, which he replied with a smile and slight bow.

Over his shoulder hung a very large bag filled with pottery his Master had made himself, and knowing him, he wouldn't be too happy if any of his handmade pottery broke because of his carelessness, so Kenshin handled the bag warily.

He finally reached a nice little homely shop, red hair ruffling in the wind. Kenshin's attentive purple eyes roamed the place for the shopkeeper and spotted a moving shadow in the back, feeling his ki all the while.

"Sakazaki-san!"

A face appeared from the shadows, a smile growing bigger on the kind man's visage.

"Kenshin, I haven't seen you in a while," the shopkeeper replied.

"I'll try and come again sooner next time," the boy replied, pushing a few red strands away with some semblance of annoyance. He carefully lay the bag on the counter, pushing it towards the other man.

"Thank your Master again for the wonderful merchandise he makes for me," Sakazaki told Kenshin, his smiling never fading.

"Hai."

After getting the money from the pottery he had just given to the man, Kenshin walked away towards the saké shop.

Many men were hanging around the place, ordering more and more saké to drink, obviously drunk out of their minds. Kenshin passed them without any change of emotions on his face, though personally he thought that they should do something else with their lives.

After all transactions were done with, Kenshin left as soon as possible, secretly glad to be away from the drunks. Especially after that time when one of them had started telling him how beautiful he was, and asked him out to dinner.

That had been a terribly scary moment. Of course, Hiko was at the sidelines, laughing hysterically as he watched the five year old Kenshin's confusion

He released the air in his lungs and took a fresh one to drive out the scent of saké as he moved on; closing his eyes in relief, knowing that he wouldn't bump into anyways, as he could sense their ki-

Ah, famous last words.

He stumbled back one step and his eyes flashed open in surprise as he did bump into someone, the other pair glaring daggers at him.

He gulped nervously as a girl with startling blue eyes scowled at him, though he was wondering how he hadn't sensed his ki. Maybe he needed to brush up on his ki training…

Luckily for him, the girl seemed to decide he wasn't really worth her time, and sent him one last glare before continuing on her way, with an annoyed grumble.

"What is it with men and bumping into me?"

Kenshin had never blushed furiously, though whether it was from anger or embarrassment, we shall never know.

But as he watched her walk away with brisk, confident steps, those blue eyes appeared in his mind again, such raw emotions in them, and even as he began walking back home, his mind was occupied with those captivating blue eyes.

Those eyes would haunt him for the rest of his life.


	4. The Fallen

_**Nothingness**_

I suddenly realized how much my chapter titles suck...

THANK YOU REVIEWERS. YEAH. Or maybe I should say _reviewer_. *sulks* Anyways, thank you SRAS9 for reviewing every chapter so far. ^_^

In answer to SRAS9's question – I'm not going to reveal why in the later chapters, and since I'm way too lazy to make a sequel this, I'll just explain here (I forgot all about having to explain…). My explanation is that Kaoru isn't supposed to exist at that point, so it messed up quite a few things in what should have been…

I own my plots, not the characters… I'm sure we all know this, so I'll just go back to sleep… Mm-hmm.

* * *

Third: The Fallen

Kaoru tried not to cry, but it was hard. Crying wasn't very usual for her, but it was a natural instinct when she had a bit more stress hanging over her head than usual. Usually, that meant a death of family and friends, which happened every now and then because of the war.

Her father was the last living relative she knew of after her mother had died, but now he was dead as well, and she hadn't even gotten to hear his last words. She was simply informed of his death by that unfeeling piece of paper that didn't even seem to care that she was all alone.

It wouldn't be long until someone decided that they could steal the dojo.

A ten-year-old Kaoru sat with her legs folded beneath her in front of a painting of her father, his smiling face looking down at her, tiny wisps of smoke floating up.

There was a moment of silence before she bowed to it, the quiet rustling of her clothes seemed almost deafening to her.

Whoever came to take away her last memories of her father and mother could go stuff himself; she was going to fight for it, even if it meant her death.

A silent tear slipped down her cheek.

~:~*~:~

Makimachi Misao was best friends with one Kamiya Kaoru.

Perhaps Kaoru thought she was too hyper, but she did know when something horrible had gone wrong.

A not very reassuring smile that seemed unsure of its own self flit her way and Misao wondered what the heck had happened. No matter how much trouble Kaoru could possibly have gotten in, she should be able to get out of it, or knock the guy senseless. She wasn't the type to get so deep in the kind of trouble she can't dig herself out.

…Right?

No! Misao shook her head rapidly, braid swinging right along with it. Kaoru wasn't stupid; she should know. Kaoru was practically the older sister she'd never had.

So why was she hurt?

Misao glared at the wall, as if it was the source of all her problems.

Letting her eyes wander slightly down towards the hunched form of Kamiya Kaoru, she scowled, eyes flashing.

Leaning against the wall, she sighed and sulked.

She was getting to the bottom of this.

~:~*~:~

There was a thud, and Hiko sighed as he lifted his head, wondering what his baka deshi had done now.

Silence poked and prodded at him, waiting for a mane of red to appear, purple eyes looking at him guiltily. Nothing happened, and Hiko cursed as he groggily got up, the saké still working its effects.

Wondering what could be preventing his apprentice from rushing into the home, he walked out of his house before realizing what had happened.

The rain was pouring heavily, the sky filled with the darkest of grays, and if he squinted just right he could make out an unmoving figure face flat on the path to his home.

Damn.

Before he knew it, his baka deshi was slung over his shoulder and he was rushing down the path towards the doctor's.

At the same time Seijuro Hiko arrived at Dr. Gensai's with a Himura Kenshin, a Makimachi Misao arrived with a Kamiya Kaoru.

~:~*~:~

"DR. GENSAI!"

"Gensai-san."

As fate would have it, both Misao and Hiko arrived at exactly the same time, rushing into the doctor's clinic, glaring at each other.

A figured emerged from the shadows and both started speaking in unison.

"Kaoru got hurt and she won't tell me how and she finally collapsed and you really really need to help her!"

"Kenshin went and tripped."

Dr. Gensai watched with quite some amusement between the two, as if trying to decide.

"All right, lay both of them down on an empty bed. I'll check the boy first, since he seems to have a head injury."

There was silence as the doctor did his job and reported.

"Kenshin is fine, just a concussion. He should wake up soon, and tell him not to move his head too much."

Hiko remained unmoving and simply nodded at the shorter man.

Misao shifted nervously as Gensai checked Kaoru, trying to restrain herself from speaking.

"So? How is she? Is she okay? I don't know what Kaoru's been up to but she's been getting hurt a lot since her father died and all the students from her dojo are gone so she doesn't get much money so I'm not sure how much she eats and I can't always be there at her dojo since I'm not actually her sister as much as I'd like to be so I need to go back to the orphanage and-"

The man held a hand up to halt her ramblings and she obeyed, eager to find out if her nee-chan was okay.

"Kaoru's fine, Misao. She's simply tired, and the bruises and cuts she have didn't help."

A sigh of relief seemed to lighten the room up, just as another girl drifted into the room sleepily.

As the two greeted the girl, Megumi, he vaguely noted, nobody noticed Hiko's attention moving to their conversation at 'Kaoru'. He hadn't really noticed the girl or her name, but she certainly looked like that kid he's met all those years ago.

_Funny; maybe the world does want those two to meet_, he mused, wishing he had brought some of his saké to pass the time with.

~:~*~:~

Kaoru woke to blinding sunlight as she carefully opened her eyes, only to close them again.

She felt horrible. Her body ached all over, and she just wanted to fall asleep again on this good… comfy…

…bed?

Her eyes shot open and she sat up as quickly, trying to figure out where she is.

A snort brought her attention to the right, and she met Megumi's eyes before relaxing. Bed and Megumi meant Dr. Gensai's, which meant safety. She was okay then.

"Took you long enough to wake up," Megumi announced before marching out the door to call Misao in. Taking the time to look around, her blue eyes were met with apprehensive purple.

"Oh. _You_."


	5. First Fall

_**Nothingness**_

Reviewers are awesome. People who read my story are, too, but reviewers make me happier. ^_^

Rurouni Kenshin is not mine. First of all, I learned what rurouni meant from the manga, so how would I come up with the name if I owned it?

* * *

Fourth: First Fall

How many times does one fall in love? With the same person, even?

The first time Himura Kenshin fell in love, as in _love_, not some random little kiddy crush, it was a beautiful day, fit with a pure blue sky and fluffy little clouds.

His Master's little hut wasn't the best place for a child to grow up, certainly. There wasn't that much contact allowed with human beings his age, and when put together with a girl his age, that caused massive… _problems_.

His Shishou looked extremely amused every time he turned red near Kaoru, and it wasn't helping at all. Not to mention her friend, Misao, kept on secretly teasing him about it, giving him those meaningful glances as he blushed while Kaoru was in the vicinity.

It was more of a crush, he decided. It was what happened when you had almost no human contact except for Market Day and Shishou. Then again, his Master probably wasn't the best example of human.

Shishou was off drinking his mind out inside, so Kenshin took the chance to simply relax outside. He couldn't seem to remember the last time he'd relaxed like this.

"Kenshin?"

Mentally sighing, he thought, _Well, there goes relaxing._

"Kaoru."

"What are you doing?"

"Relaxing." _Or, at least, I was._

"You know, you seem kind of bored today."

An eyebrow was raised. "Why can't I be bored today?"

Kaoru tsked at him, deep sapphire eyes glinting in the warm sunlight. "Don't you know? It's your birthday!"

He blinked at her, mentally checking his in-head calendar. "It is?"

Rolling her eyes, she grabbed his hand and pulled him along as Kenshin protested behind her, feeling his face heat up.

"Misao!" she called just as the said girl appeared. "Tell Hiko when he's sober that we're going to find the birthday boy a present!"

Misao simply gave Kenshin _the_ look.

Kenshin protested the whole time during the road to Market. Kaoru's response was to laugh, frustrating Kenshin further.

"I don't need a present!" he said as they rushed into the Market. Many of the shopkeepers greeted Kaoru enthusiastically. She had bonded with them soon after being 'adopted' by Hiko, in a way. The fact that he hadn't thrown her out of his house was good enough to say she was 'adopted' by him.

"Sae-san!" she greeted the owner of the Shirobeko as the two rushed by, Kenshin giving her a hopeful look. Sae smiled at the two.

"Have fun, you two!"

Kenshin groaned at the twinkle in her eyes that seemed to imply something.

The search for a present for the 'birthday boy' began as Kaoru looked around all the shops there, but as the sun began to set, they both knew they had to go back.

"Mou!" Kaoru huffed angrily, dragging a semi-amused Kenshin along. "Why doesn't anyone have anything good around? I didn't even get you a present, after all those shops we looked through!"

"It's fine," he reassured her, though by the glare she gave him, Kaoru wasn't really satisfied with that.

Kaoru seemed to think as silence fell on them, trudging their way to their home. Suddenly her whole posture lit up and she turned around, her blue eyes alit with light.

"I know!" she announced cheerfully, and Kenshin was secretly glad to see her happy again.

But before he'd realized what was happening, she had leaned over and kissed him softly on the cheek.

She laughed quietly at his flustered face and incoherent spluttering, deep blue eyes sparkling.

"Nice present, ne?"

And she left him blushing furiously, laughing as she left to run back without him, as Kenshin slowly raised a hand to touch the burning spot she'd kissed him on.

"…Hai."

If the crush turned into love, what was he to do?


	6. Second Fall

_**Nothingness**_

So, this should be the last chapter with all the happy fluffy stuff. Next chapter, we get to the angst, my favorite. *evil laughter* Note: I'm sorry for the wait, had a case of music deprivation (my speakers… they're new! T.T), and thus loss of inspiration. Also had a tiny case of writer's block, which was soon resolved as I got my music back and wrote a bit of angst.

Actually, Nadya Lubov, I said I had six _more_ chapters in the second chapter, so there will be eight in total. ^_^

Rurouni Kenshin does not belong to me. Yay.

* * *

Fifth: Second Fall

Himura Kenshin was in love with Kamiya Kaoru.

Groaning, the red-haired boy brought his head against the cool wooden floor. There, he'd admitted it. What else would he have to do?

It had started out with their occasional petty fight, that Misao had ever so cheerfully dubbed as a "lover's spat" whereas Hiko got drunk and laughed in the background. In fact, the only thing he remembered from the beginning of the fight was that he thought it was extremely petty.

Then, it got serious.

He groaned. For one, he didn't even remember what they had been fighting about. But here he was, sulking in his room because she didn't want to talk to him and he didn't want to face the glares from Misao as well as Shishou.

But it was her _birthday_!

He groaned again, flushing a red as he remembered his own birthday last year.

Putting that thought away, he gathered up all courage he had left and managed to force his legs to walk out of the room and his arms to slide the shoji open.

Of course, it would be just his luck to see Kaoru as soon as he'd worked up the nerve to go out.

Startled blue eyes stared at him, and Kenshin felt quite unnerved.

"Umm… hi?" he offered.

She abruptly turned and began walking in the opposite direction.

"Kaoru!" he shouted after her retreating figure, but she made no signs of acknowledgement until he'd grabbed her wrist.

She spun around, sapphire eyes blazing with anger.

"_Don't touch me__!_" Kaoru snapped, and Kenshin flinched as though struck.

"I-"

"Don't talk to me, either!" she hissed before turning around again and marching off.

Kenshin sat down heavily, looking quite dispirited. Misao just happened to come across the brooding boy.

"Don't tell me, she's still mad at you," Misao announced, looking unimpressed with him.

Kenshin had never felt so uncomfortable with a person before.

"Erm, I-"

"She is, isn't she? That's just sad, Himura. Really, you two, I bet you don't even remember what you were fighting about! In fact, Kaoru doesn't. She told me that, looking rather embarrassed, but that isn't the point here. The _point_ is that you haven't forgiven each other yet! How hard can it be? Kiss her and be done with it! Don't you know it's her birthday? You can't let her be mad at you on her birthday!"

Kenshin nodded meekly, wondering what was with women and interrupting him, never letting him speak a word in his own defense.

"Well? What are you waiting for?" Misao said, glaring at him. "I'll be off at the Aoiya, and when I come back, you two better have made up with each other!"

He watched Misao as she left; thinking over what she had told him.

Apparently, Kaoru was still angry at him for the sake of being angry, and neither of them remembered what the original argument was even about. This made the situation a little more difficult to deal with, as he would have to apologize for some careless remark he couldn't even remember.

He sighed again, before going off to search for her, hoping that the situation would resolve itself somehow.

"Kaoru?" he asked quietly as he walked onto the wooden porch.

She ignored him, of course, but her resolve not to look at him was eradicated as soon as he had sat himself next to her.

He rolled his eyes in fond exasperation at the sulky glare she was shooting him.

"Alright, let's start over."

Kenshin stuck a hand out, smiling.

"Hello, I'm Himura Kenshin. You must be Kamiya Kaoru."

As soon as Kaoru took it, no matter how cautiously it may have been, he leaned over and kissed her right on the lips. Satisfaction with himself rushed through him at the look of utter surprise on her face, yet the mirrored satisfaction in her eyes. Distantly, somewhere in the back of his mind, he thought that Misao had pretty good ideas at times.

He ended the kiss and smiled at her shocked face. "Happy birthday."


	7. The Fight

_**Nothingness**_

This is only part of the argument, just so you know… Little snippets here and there of the entire thing (I didn't write the rest), some of it from the first chapter. I actually wrote this before the last chapter (this was the mentioned 'bit of angst'), and now I feel so much better… Beware the angst!

Rurouni Kenshin isn't mine. Now, onto the story!

* * *

Sixth: The Fight

Hiko fixed his apprentice with a stony stare.

"You're an idiot."

Kenshin fidgeted under his Shishou's unrelenting glare, knowing anything he said would simply make the situation worse.

After a few agonizing minutes, his Master sighed. "This will break her heart, you know."

The red-haired boy winced. That one remark hurt more than anything his Master could've screamed at him about.

"Think on it."

Hiko staggered up onto his feet and slammed the sliding door shut after him, leaving Kenshin alone to his thoughts.

And the rain fell, fell, fell.

~:~*~:~

"Have you made your decision?"

The soft, lilting voice he knew from the bottom of his heart. _Kaoru_.

"I… I must do this."

"I see."

Her words were emotionless, carefully blanketed with nothingness. But it was a lie.

And she sat down before him, simply _looking_ at him with those eyes, those beautiful, deep blue, entrancing eyes…

"Kenshin..." She smiled at him, but her eyes with lifeless, dull, not anything near her normal smile.

"I'll be happy. Go."

Her soft laughter was obviously fake, obviously a show put on so that he could leave without any guilt, but she was a bad actor. She wasn't mean to act. She was meant to do say what she meant.

But her gaze never wavered, throughout the lies she spouted, and this had to be some sort of torture made especially for him.

Misao was hanging around at the Aoiya, swooning over the ever stoic Aoshi. When she came back to visit them again, Kenshin would no longer be there. But Himura Kenshin was not thinking of her.

"…Good-bye."

Kenshin stood up, his soft amethyst eyes never leaving Kaoru's until he slid the shoji shut.

"…_I love you_," he whispered softly.

He stood there for a moment, not sure what he wanted to do, before he walked towards his room to pack.

~:~*~:~

"_Do you hear me?_"

His Master's shout was loud enough so that Kenshin would have heard him from the Market.

"_Leave and don't you dare ever come back_!"

But Kenshin continued on the path regardless.

Yet, for some strange, unknown reason, something possessed him to look back once. He certainly wasn't look for his Shishou, knowing that if his Master caught his eye the anger in those murky depths would be horrid. No, he was looking for a blue-eyed girl he loved.

The rain had lessened to a drizzle now, as if to let him through without that much more trouble. He didn't even notice as the tiny droplets soaked into his clothes and skin as he caught sight of Kaoru one last time.

His blank smile was still on his face, he later on realized after he'd turned away from the sight of Kaoru's masking smile, a tear slipping through the façade. Kenshin suddenly realized there was such a distance between them again, and although he could overcome it quickly enough, it felt like forever.

There were no words exchanged, even though if they shouted just loud enough they'd be able to hear each other over the light pitter patter of the rain. It was silent, with only the continuous rain, though that as well faded into the background as they stared at each other one last time.

Then, Kenshin turned away.

"_I love you…_"


	8. One Person

_**Nothingness**_

Nobody has asked me yet, but I'll make this clear in case someone does want to know: Tomoe _does_ exist in this story, but she eventually dies by Kenshin's hand after giving him the other half of the cross scar. So she never falls in love with him, but she was there, even though I never mentioned her (though the scar was mentioned). Not that I have anything against her, I just want some KxK. ^_^

Last chapter, people. I was actually planning to write one more before this, but I decided not to with school coming up. I may write it one day, tough.

RK shall never be mine… Have you noticed how little romance there is between Kaoru and Kenshin? Hello? They so deserved more! As a romanticist, the idea of such little romance between those two would've been appalling to me.

* * *

Epilogue: One Person

His eyes were raised to the sun, before looking down again, beautiful purple eyes far too old and sad.

He walked down the streets of Tokyo, years of wandering leading him here. His bright red hair made him stand out amongst the crowd, and his cross scar made many liable to think he was the Hitokiri Battousai.

Not that they were wrong, of course.

The name followed him like a ghost, and every time he was identified by it his mind immediately brought back Kaoru's hateful tone as she spit out the name like a curse. And it hurt.

He had never fallen in love again, still wishing for a happy ending between the two. But that could never happen…

…right?

"-Kaoru?" he whispered, eyes large and bright as he watched a familiar figure walk through the crowd. Still, he couldn't feel her ki. It had to be her.

Suddenly, her head turned and their eyes locked onto each other, both of them shocked and locked into their own world as everyone else moved along with life.

He couldn't hear her over the crowd, but she could see her mouth, 'Kenshin?'.

Tearing his eyes away from hers, he looked down at the ground, remembering her words.

"_May I never see you again, Battousai."_

A soft, gentle smack on his face brought his face up and met Kaoru's gentle blue gaze.

"It's you," she whispered as she exhaled.

He looked away, feeling ashamed.

"Come on," she murmured, tugging on his arm. "This is no place to talk."

"I- I thought you never wanted to see me again," he said, not moving from his spot.

"Baka!" she shouted at him, attracting a few glances their way but soon their interest faded.

"What?" he said, confused, but she took advantage of his temporary shock and dragged him away from the crowd and towards a dojo.

_Kamiya Kasshin Ryu_, he thought with a sad smile. _She's achieved her dream of teaching others…_

One way or the other, they ended up sitting next to each other on the porch, bringing back a few painful memories of when Kenshin had left.

"You said you never wanted to see me again," Kenshin stated softly, purple eyes staring at Kaoru.

"I said I never wanted to see the _Battousai_ again," Kaoru told him with a smile, but in the depths of her deep blue eyes there was overwhelming sadness. "I never said a word about Himura Kenshin."

"It's the same person," Kenshin argued back, though he was mostly glad to hear she didn't actually hate him.

"One person, yes," she agreed.

"Then-"

"But although it's one person, I'll make an exception for Himura Kenshin, my childhood friend and crush."

Kenshin stared at her. Did she just say she _liked_ him?

Kaoru flushed. "Did I just say that out loud?"

He nodded, still looking shocked.

"…Oh."

The two looked at each other for a few long moments. Both cracked smiles and laughter rang throughout the room.

Kenshin brought Kaoru into his arms and hugged her; both of them comforted knowing the other was there, after so many long years of confusion, hate, and sadness.

"…Thank you."

"For what?"

"Not hating me."

She smiled. "I can't hate you."

"…I love you."

"That's nice to know."

Kaoru leaned into him and the two sat there, listening to the sounds of the world around them, knowing that everything was right now.

The pang of nothingness in Kenshin's heart had disappeared.

* * *

Wah! Finally finished! Thank you guys, my reviewers, those who gave this little spontaneous fic a chance. I think I won't write anything RK for a while…Maybe I'll come back to the RK fandom, but for now, I need a break. ^_^


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